The Small Animal Specialist Hospital (SASH) provides innovative therapies and world leading clinicians to pets facing a cancer diagnosis.
Cancer in animals, particularly dogs and cats, is of the same prevalence as it is in humans, with one in every four dogs developing some form of cancer in their lifetime and it is the leading cause of death in pets beyond middle age.
Dr Veronika Langova, specialist medical oncologist at SASH, said cancer in animals is treated in many of the same ways that cancer in people is treated – surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and immunotherapy.
SASH’s Cancer Centre is unique in its ability to provide three types of cancer treatment, including medical, surgical and radiation, each able to be used independently or in combination.
One patient that has benefited from SASH’s extensive range of treatments is 14-year-old rescue cat Jack Nel, who over a period of five years has had four different types of cancer successfully treated.
“Receiving the diagnosis can be devasting but as I’ve seen with Jack’s treatments, there are so many different options for treatment these days and animals are so resilient.
“Whenever we are assessing treatment options for patients, our decisions are always made to promote the best quality of life in our patients.
“The key is often early detection, as we saw in each of Jack’s cancers. Sometimes symptoms can show up in different forms. Seizures in cats may present as sneezes, for example,” said Dr Langova.
Early diagnosis is key as many of the common types of cancers in animals are manageable with the appropriate treatment. SASH is often able to significantly extend life and provide improvements in their quality of life for prolonged periods of time.
Each SASH location is open every day of the year for walk-ins, when urgent veterinary care is needed, or when the local veterinary practice is closed.
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